Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Miscellaneous Musings

On Star Wars and
Every Generation Having a Legend: Part 1 (written before seeing the film)

December 16, 2015

It seems inconsistent for me to write about Star Wars: The Force Awakens. This is a
film that I have completely avoided reading about. I bypassed links to Ten Things We Learned from the New Trailer,
skipped fan theories speculating about the absence of Luke Skywalker from the
previews, and couldn’t be bothered with headlines prognosticating about either the
film’s quality or its eventual box office. In short, I want to see the film
without any preconceived notions or plot expectations.

Ever since the seventh chapter in the Star Wars saga was announced, I have been filled with conflicting
emotions. On the one hand, the film, as well as its eventual sequels, seemed
unnecessary. The central story of the Skywalker family had been told and
reached its logical conclusion. Regardless of what order the six movies are
watched in – and I still believe the prequels should be watched after the
original series – there was finality to the story. Sure remnants of the Empire still
exist at the conclusion of Return of the
Jedi, but their ultimate fate did not have the importance of the
rehabilitation of the father at the hands of his son or the start of Han and Leia’s
new life together. What happened next seemed obvious and perhaps better left to
the imagination.

The Star Wars universe
continued of course. There were comic books, novels, action figures, video
games, and cartoons. Most of these existed outside of the official Star Wars canon, and one in particular
riled up Star Wars enthusiasts by
killing off Chewbacca. I was a casual fan of these, having enjoyed the comic
book as a child and read Timothy Zahn’s Heir
to the Empire trilogy as an adult.

As the years went by, Star
Wars lost some of its importance. As the films went through multiple incarnations,
they were no longer what had originally excited people so much, wounded by
pointless debates about who shot first
and ludicrous added moments, such as Han stepping on Jabba the Hutt’s tail and
not experiencing any repercussions for it. The most recent version of the Return of the Jedi has a change at the
conclusion of Luke and Vader’s climactic battle that just feels wrong. In fact,
knowing about it, as well as the many other recent alterations, may have
contributed to my decision not to purchase the six films on Blu-ray.

This brings me back to the new film. I am aware of the
excitement that people have for The Force
Awakens. I’m just not there yet myself. The new film remains a curiosity to
me, and I’m cautiously optimistic based on the previews I’ve seen. Some cite
J.J. Abrams’ influence as the main reason for their enthusiasm and blast George Lucas for many of his
decisions regarding the prequels, such as his casting of Hayden Christenson,
his inclusion of Jar Jar Binks, the film’s constant barrage of CGI effects that
numb the senses and take away from emotional moments. I suspect that what they
are most angry about is that Lucas seems to have made The Phantom Menace for a new generation of Star Wars fans and not those that grew up with it.

Let’s be honest: The
Phantom Menace was for the kids. The trailer said it all: Every generation has its own legend. The Phantom Menace and its sequels were meant to be
the millenials’, and The Force Awakens
is meant to be this generation's. It is intended to be an experience that will
be collectively had and talked about for the rest of their lives. These are
tall expectations indeed, and it is all too easy for these kinds of hopes not
to be met. Like I said, I’m cautiously hopeful. After all, every generation
does indeed deserve its own legends. Why shouldn’t one of them be Star Wars?